Additionally, the city's hotel industry is set to benefit from a further 800 rooms over the next twelve months, including: 330 rooms in Motel One by Piccadilly, 208 in Innside by Melia at First Street, 138 at Hotel Football by Old Trafford, 66 in Hotel Gotham on King Street and another 40 nearby at King Street Townhouse.

By the end of 2016, it is estimated that central Manchester alone will possess over 11,000 hotel rooms.

The Lowry Hotel

Nick Brooks-Sykes, director of tourism at Marketing Manchester, said:

“2014 was a very good year for Greater Manchester’s hotel industry with occupancy levels outstripping previous records set across the conurbation. To see figures continue to rise alongside ever-expanding bedroom stock speaks volumes about the current health of our tourism industry.

“There are a number of new hotel operators preparing to enter the market in 2015 and notably many of the city’s existing hotels are currently upgrading their facilities. This investment is very well-timed as the tourism calendar is packed with new developments and drivers.

“We kick off with the reopening of the Whitworth in a couple of weeks; the opening of HOME follows in May; the Manchester International Festival and Manchester Pride’s 25th anniversary take place over the summer; Rugby World Cup comes to Manchester in October; and then before you know it the Manchester Christmas Markets will be back.”

“This is really good news for Greater Manchester and reflects the hard work of many organisations and people in developing and promoting our destination. But we cannot afford to be complacent; Manchester is competing for tourism on an international stage and competition is fierce."

Radisson Blu Edwardian

Paul Bayliss, chair of the Manchester Hoteliers Association, added:

“It’s always good to see growth in hotel occupancy levels; however, achieving a record year like this is particularly satisfying following the difficult years experienced during the economic downturn. The region’s profile is undoubtedly on the up and as a result we’ve seen a noticeable increase in forward bookings, particularly when the city is hosting major events, conferences and festivals.

“The demographic of our staying guests also continues to diversify; they continue to look for a more sophisticated and novel offer and Manchester as a city continues to provide it through its consistent regeneration programmes in both leisure and supporting services for commerce sectors as new businesses make the city region their home.

“With increases in visitors from places such as China, India and the United States the future looks bright for Greater Manchester’s hotel industry and we’ll be working closely with partners such as Marketing Manchester to nurture future growth.”

Tourism is estimated to generate £6.6bn a year for Greater Manchester.

“We kick off with the reopening of the Whitworth in a couple of weeks; the opening of HOME follows in May;

DarrenFebruary 2nd 2015.

A 15 night run of Phoenix Nights at the arena is a good way to start the year and hopefully United getting back in the Champions League will be good for the back end of it.

AnonymousFebruary 2nd 2015.

I think Anon's referring to last year, Darren.

AnonymousFebruary 2nd 2015.

There was loads of things like beer festivals, craft & art fairs and wedding shows.

AnonymousFebruary 2nd 2015.

And people shouldn't underestimate the pull of the Coronation St Tour. I think it's approaching 400,000 visitors now, so that will have had an effect on visitor numbers. There are a number of people from Australia, New Zealand and Canada who have signed a petition to keep this attraction after visiting it last year.

AnonymousFebruary 2nd 2015.

I must admit I walked past the entrance and over the bridge next to the Lowry at the weekend to get to King St, and I was a bit shocked how grubby the road is to enter the car park. There are a couple of boarded up offices and then a dirty road that needed a good clean leading up to the hotel. The disused buildings in front could do with being cleared.

As has been said before, all the streets and public places in the city need to be cleaned thoroughly and regularly. The amount of rubbish strewn around is just offensive and ultimately quite depressing. Its more than just a blot on the landscape, it undermines the whole credibility of the city. Oh, and many of the pavements need repairing or replacing. Its relatively small stuff like this (which is fixable) that make a difference to how the city is perceived.

SFebruary 2nd 2015.

But, but, but, but, this does not mean that planners need to permit every building to be a hotel, or demolish to make more. Surely at some point there is going to be a saturation point that is like the empty office space encouraged before the crash? I'd like to see far more destinations and wide use of new areas of the city than the default position on more and more hotels.